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Brunei is a super intriguing little country on the Southeast Asian island of Borneo that isn’t on many travellers’ radars.
Despite the extreme wealth in the nation, Brunei is actually a super budget friendly travel destination with plenty to see and do to keep you entertained over a few days. Visiting the world’s largest water village, Kampong Ayer, admiring some of the grandest mosques in the Islamic world and spending the day at one of the most luxurious hotel resorts in Asia are just a few of the awesome things you need to add to your Brunei travel itinerary.
Now, I don’t know about you but I absolutely love fun facts, and Brunei certainly has plenty of them to talk about, that’s for sure. Although small, it has a lot to say for itself and in this post I’m going to share with you 20 interesting facts about Brunei, ranging from its impressive natural and man-made beauty to its unique history and current laws, some of which are unfortunately not to be proud of.
I explored the country for 4 days in 2020 and highly recommend checking it out. For more information, including a complete itinerary and personal thoughts from my experience, read my Full Guide To Visiting Brunei which details all the best activities and experiences available!
Here are 20 quick-fire crazy facts about Brunei
1. Brunei is one of the least visited countries in the world
Despite being naturally diverse and incredibly interesting, the country remains fairly unknown and sees only about 200,000 tourists on average every year!
Its somewhat strict laws and the lack of internationally-recognised-world-famous attractions limit the amount of people who visit Brunei.
In fact, many people I meet don’t know where it is and some have never even heard of the place!
2. Brunei has the world’s largest residential palace
The Istana Nurul Iman Palace in Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei’s capital city) is the world’s largest residential palace and the official home of the current Sultan of Brunei.
Spread across 0.5km, it covers a whopping 50 acres of land (which for reference is about 40 football pitches) and boasts a ridiculous 1,788 rooms. The cost to build the palace was estimated to be an eye-watering US $120 million – that’s some crib!
3. The Sultan of Brunei was once the world’s richest man
The Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, not only lives in the world’s largest residential palace but also owns around 7,000 luxury cars including 500 Rolls-Royces, 450 Ferraris and 400 Bentleys. His car collection alone, including a gold-plated Rolls-Royce, is rumoursed to be worth over $1 billion.
He reportedly spends $20,000 for a haircut and also has a huge collection of art, with one piece by Pierre-Auguste Renoir valued at $70 million alone.
Worth around $30 billion today, the Sultan remains one of the richest people on Earth.
4. The country's population is only around 430,000
For reference, that’s less than Edinburgh and 20 times less than New York City.
Of those 430,000 people, around 300,000 live in the capital city of Bandar Seri Begawan.
5. Brunei is one of the smallest countries in the world
At approximately 5,765 km², Brunei is about 42 times smaller than the United Kingdom, 70 times smaller than California and 12 times smaller than Tasmania.
6. It has some of the lowest fuel prices in the world
Currently a litre of fuel at a pump in Brunei costs approximately US $0.40, with the international average at roughly $1.
7. The same family has run the country for 655 years
Brunei has the world’s oldest reigning monarchy and in 1967 Hassanal Bolkiah became the 29th Sultan of Brunei since 1368 and remains the Sultan today.
8. It is home to the world’s largest water village
A major tourist destination in the country, the sprawling stilt-village of Kampong Ayer (literally meaning ‘water village’) can be seen and reached from the waterfront in Bandar Seri Begawan.
At 10km² it is the largest of water village in the world and you can take a boat to explore it for only around $1.
For more details about visiting Kampong Ayer, read this guide: Backpacking Brunei and Everything To Do
9. It’s the 2nd most developed Southeast Asian country
Mostly from its enormous natural oil and gas industry, Brunei is an extremely well developed country.
It comes second in Southeast Asia only to Singapore and ranks fifth in the world in terms of GDP per capita.
10. 30-40% of school children are overweight
The amount of money here, then, clearly contributes to this fact.
According to a Unicef survey, 14.1% of children aged 5-19 are obese in Brunei. That is the highest percentage in Southeast Asia and a number that speaks volumes.
11. It is one of the safest countries on earth
Alongside the likes of Iceland and New Zealand, crime rates in Brunei are extremely low and it is a very safe travel destination.
12. Alcohol is totally banned
13. It was previously part of Malaysia
Brunei used to be part of Malaysia, which explains why the national language is Malay.
The remainder of Borneo remains divided between Malaysia and Indonesia and since 1962 Brunei has been the only country entirely situated on the island of Borneo.
14. Brunei has one of the worlds highest car-ownership rates
Probably due to the sweltering humidity in the country, there are roughly 2 cars to every 3 people in Brunei. That’s pretty crazy if you think about it!
15. Brunei is one of only two ‘absolute monarchies’ left in Asia
The Sultan of Brunei is an absolute monarch, meaning he is not only the King but also takes on the roles of Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance, and Minister of Defense.
Brunei and Bhutan are the only countries in Asia to still have absolute monarchs.
16. Brunei uses Sharia Law
Here’s a head scratcher for you. In 2014, Brunei became the first east Asian country to adopt Sharia Law, a barbaric Islamic tradition derived from the Quran.
Long story short, it makes homosexuality (and some actual crimes) punishable by being publicly stoned to death. Yeah, I know. Bonkers.
Other punishments include public crucifixions, lashings or amputations, or alternatively a mere 10 years in prison.
17. Christmas Day is banned
It is actually illegal to celebrate Christmas in public, although you won’t get stoned to death for this one… I think.
Even though it’s banned, many Christians and some Muslims celebrate in private.
18. Brunei Darussalam means "abode of peace”
Given the country’s high standard of living, low crime rate and long life expectancy (averaging 76 years), this is a pretty cool name and, overall, a fair reflection of Brunei.
19. Brunei doesn’t have a minimum wage
Because there is no minimum wage, salaries are decided once the two parties come to an agreement, kind of like haggling I guess.
Therefore, if you’re ever applying for a job in Brunei you better brush up on your negotiating skills!
20. 80% of Brunei is covered by rainforest
It’s rainforests are home to some really interesting and rare creatures like flying lizards, clouded leopards and proboscis monkeys.
Proboscis monkey are endemic to Borneo and you can see them by taking a river boat in Bandar Seri Begawan, one of the Best Things To Do In Brunei.
Best tours in Brunei
Thank you for reading this travel guide – I hope you found it helpful! Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible 
Happy travelling!
HELPFUL RESOURCES FOR PLANNING YOUR TRIP
Accommodation: Booking.com, Hostelworld
Tours: GetYourGuide, Viator, Klook, TripAdvisor
Transport: 12Go, Omio, Trip.com, Rome2Rio
WHO IN THE WORLD IS JAMES?
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